MOCCASIN (a

See also:

• NORTH
• NORTH, BARONS
• NORTH, MARIANNE (1830—1890)
• NORTH, ROGER (1653-1734)
• NORTH, SIR THOMAS (1535?-16o1?)

North-

See also:

• AMERICAN

American

See also:

• INDIAN

Indian word, of which the spelling and

See also:

• PRONUNCIATION (Lat. pronuntiatio, from pronuntiare, proclaim, announce, pronounce)

pronunciation vary in different dialects)  , a shoe made of deerskin or other soft leather . It is made in one piece; the sole is soft and flexible and the upper part is often adorned with embroidery, beading or other ornament . It is the footwear of the North American Indian tribes and is also worn by hunters, traders and settlers . In botany, the lady's slipper is known in the United States of America, as the " moccasin flower," from its resemblance to a shoe or moccasin . The name moccasin is also given to a venomous snake, found as far north as North Carolina and westward to the Rocky Mountains, and popularly called " cottonmouth," from the white rim around the mouth . It belongs to the family Crotalidae, species Ancistrodon (or Cenchris) piscivorus, is about two feet long, and is often found in marshy land . It is sometimes called the water moccasin to distinguish it from the upland moccasin (Ancistrodon contortrix or atrofuscus), which is commonly called " copperhead " and is found further north in dry and mountainous regions . The name is possibly a distinct word of which the origin has not been traced .